Jinx was a sweet and playful white kitty that belonged to the next door neighbors. She was a good hunter; I found two dead rats lying about. She showed little fear of my dogs, more curious than anything. I think she was nailed by speeding car on our street. It's high time they put speed bumps on this bit of street. People are careless and reckless behind the wheel. I'm tired of cursing them. I think Jinx is an awful name for a pet. I miss you Jinx.

So the maples formed a unionAnd demanded equal rights."The oaks are just too greedy;We will make them give us light."Now there's no more oak oppression,For they passed a noble law,And the trees are all kept equalBy hatchet, axe, and saw. - RUSH

For the second time in my life, I find myself in Kentucky on derby day. The fervor with which the good people of Kentucky celebrate a horse race is astonishing. It's one of those you-have-to-be-there things. You can't explain the energy and reverence that hangs in the air.

An interesting discovery this weekend. I play Guitar Hero much better fueled by rum. I wonder if the jockeys would fare better if they knocked down a few before jumping into the saddle?

Windbag: to do the derby you should be on the infield, drink (really bad) mint juleps, your lady should be wearing a hat, and you MUST cry when they play 'My old Kentucky Home." Oh--and enjoy the race and bet two dollars on the favorite to show.

Ann- how about this. What will blogs be chatting about in 50 years? Will race be an issue still? Will many Americans still be living in some of our small, down-on-their-luck industrial towns or will they have become ghost towns? Or will more and more people have the option of living the small town life by working remotely via the internet? How old will that tree be in 50 years? Will you still be blogging if you are able? Will the internet make universities an anacronymsm? (bad spelling I know). Who will win the NBA title? Where has Maxine been ? Why did she return the other day? Where is Doyle?

Duck and venison sausage, wot my friend killed himself with his own two hands, but made by someone else, but smoked by himself. A bit of back and forth there, and I must say, it is addictive. Potato with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese onion, garlic, and olives, wot I made myself just now.

Jinx, RIP. Or not, up there in mousy hunting grounds in the sky. Yes, you were unfortunately named.

Victoria, is it fair talking about a subject you put the kibosh on? Because here I am shutting up about the biscuit that must not be spoken.

European Nabisco®™ instant chocolate milk powder is altogether less sweet than American Nabisco®™ instant chocolate milk powder. Now why is that? It doesn't work to simply change a recipe based on how tastes are imagined to differ. I mean, they don't go making McDonalds hamburgers out of viande chevaline. Do they? I would hope not. But maybe they do. Oh dear, I hope not. That does it! No McDonalds in France for me! Evah! I read in a book, right here in this book, they get 1/3 of their horses from the U.S. But then my book was written by a British woman, so who really knows?

You are more on the ball than 99.9 percent of the American press corps.

Here is what ya do:

Go to Amazon; find out who her book publisher is; Monday morning call its publicity department; get her agent's number; set up a phone call with her; ask her who all these cozy media people are who know more about Obama's relationship with Ayers than they're letting on; then call them.

Better yet, if you're in Chicago, get your video camera, find out where the guy lives, wait until he comes out, and ask him how long before 1995 he knew Obama and what their relationship was.

I think that tree is actually several trees planted in the same hole, once emerged, naturally and sensibly and moved away from each other to avail themselves of maximum light. Stuck there together at their roots and unable to fully move away from each other, grown into one another at the base, set upon an endless struggle for supremacy in achingly slow motion. I feel sorry for those trees so woefully started and now unable to rid themselves of each other. How they would run in opposite directions if only they could. I'm sure of it.

Here, Fen, are the words of our present day visionary. Not exactly a Dr. King, but one who has an even bolder dream:

"In many nations of the Middle East -- countries of great strategic importance -- democracy has not yet taken root. And the questions arise: Are the peoples of the Middle East somehow beyond the reach of liberty? Are millions of men and women and children condemned by history or culture to live in despotism? Are they alone never to know freedom, and never even to have a choice in the matter? I, for one, do not believe it. I believe every person has the ability and the right to be free.

"The advance of freedom is the calling of our time; it is the calling of our country....Liberty is the design of nature; we believe that liberty is the direction of history....Freedom...is not for us alone, it is the right and the capacity of all mankind...."

Another couple of swaths down the lawn today with the scythe in between rain showers.

I find the 10' wide pattern very pleasing, though in the spring you don't finish the back yard before you have to start the front again. Along about the end of June the whole yard looks neat at once, though.

The tracks are sneaker marks; sneakers advance about 6 inches per stroke.

As far as the Kentucky Derby goes, the favorite, Big Brown, won impressively, that horse appears to be a monster, and might win the first Triple Crown since Affirmed did it in 1978. He broke from the worst post position (20th), rode the entire race 3 or 4 wide (thus not conserving any distance), and still won by 5 lengths and looked capable of running another mile if need be.

Unfortunately, the massive filly (she was a hand or two taller than most of the colts in the race), Eight Belles broke both her front ankles (after finishing a game 2nd), and was euthanized on the track.

It's a sickening feeling being at a track when a horse breaks down, only thing worse is when a jockey is trampled (I've been at the track when both have happened).

With that said, these horses are bred for the purpose of running, they are magnificent animals to observe up close, and they are treated very lovingly and well, for the most part. They're probably 'too' thoroughly bred at this point, though, and those spindly legs aren't designed to support the acceleration and sustained speeds that they acheive.

Racing doesn't hold the popular imagination the way it once did, and tracks on non-big racing days can be pretty depressing to be around, but those animals are still amazing athletes (as well as those tiny, yet strong, jockeys who ride those beasts).

As far as Elizabeth Wurtzel goes (and I live way, way west of Chicago, though I suppose I live so far west of Chicago, that being on the 'other' coast that I'm subject to the same kind of 'bubble' that Manhattanites live in here on the Westside of the Los Angeles Basin), I totally wanted her back in the early/mid-90s, I had a thing for intelligent/manic/self-absorbed/fine-looking women back then.

I've since matured.

(and Bitch is a good (but very rambling) read, as is Prozac Nation, her output since has paled in comparison)

(her comments after 9/11, and her admission to Yale Law School, are inexplicable, however)

I think Meade might be referring to the euthanising on the track, of poor Eight Belles, as my dear chum XWL mentioned.

The further we go from the days where animals and humans depended on each other totally, not just for sustenance and companionship like today, the more these ideas that we're being cruel to animals outside of necessity, gets.

I'm anything but a country girl, but sometimes I think I was brought well about that. I'll pet and love a bunny, with the same enthusiasm as I'll hunt it and eat it.

OK, I am very said that Eight Belles was euthanized on the track today at the Kentucky Derby.

I went to Lexington/Louisville last fall to watch some horse racing (because my parents enjoy it).

I did the tour of the farms, saw million dollar horses fuck, saw the new tracks with the new turf they were going to be using because of the horse that died last year, went to Keeneland and bet on the horses and did some other horse stuff I can't recall.

It's a business plain and simple and cash is king. The arabs are taking over many of the farms around Lexington. The Lexington Airport enlarged their runways just to accomodate some rich arabs large airplane.

I love animals and it is sad to see a beautiful animal collapse and then euthanized on a race track. Also, she was the only filley among I think 14 males. Another one died a week ago at the Kentucky Oaks.

On another note I can't stand seeing Lanny Davis on television. I would like to punch him. He just is so annoying and unlikable.

OK, I just read Tom Friedman's editorial today and got kind of depressed.

Is America's best days behind them? Are we going to be overtaken by other countries? Are we already overtaken by other countries?

When I was in college in the late 80's and early 90's I had this good friend and butt buddy from Uraguay who I used to always tease about him being third world and me being the ruler of the world because I was from the US. My sense is that times are changing. I could be wrong but I think our day in the sun and has come and gone and we are now following from grace. Similar to some queens that I see around town every now and then.

Maybe it is just the mood of America right now. Are we not feeling good about ourselves at this moment in history?

How do each of you feel about America at this time? Does it ever fluctuate?

My sense is there is a malaise hovering around the country today.

During the 90's and the dotcom craze living in San Francisco there was a combination of ectasy and hell.

Ectasy because everyone had the opportunity to make boat loads of money. Fabulous food, drink, money everywhere, clubs and etc. Hell because there were no drugs to save people from the evils of AIDS. It was a very weird time. Jobs and sign on bonuses, stock options, relo bonuses were plentiful while at the same time many very young were dieing atrocious deaths. Going insane, going blind, wasting away, talking in tongues, believing bugs were crawling all over them, having spots all over their former beautiful bodies.

Yes, Titus, that was certainly the general feeling for most of the 70's. In addition to Watergate and the loss of Vietnam, there were gasoline, coffee, & sugar shortages, persistent inflation and slow or negative growth, and expanding Soviet power and influence. Reagan changed that, with more help from (some)Democrats than Bush has ever gotten in a real fightin' war.

I pity the poor angry immigrant vaginaWho wishes it would've stayed home,Who uses all its power to do evilBut in the end is always left so alone.That angry immigrant vagina whom with its fingers cheatsAnd who lies with ev'ry breath,Who passionately hates its lifeAnd likewise, fears its death.

Titus is to Althouse as Tinkerbell is to Paris Hilton. He's the overcoddled little beast that Althouse uses as her accessory. She indulges him by dressing him up in little designer outfits and letting him piss all over her furniture.

Wow that's a little harsh Ruth Anne. I mean I know he gets a little personal at times and it's not what I would do, but it kinda seems heartfelt. My instinct is to cut people a break, but don't mind me I'm just a chootch.